Blue Tang Acting funny

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titoav15

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
68
Hey Guys,
I got a hippo tang the other day (about 2" long). He is doing well (i think and hope). A damsel was picking on hime earlier today so I had to take everything out of the tank of catch the bastard (damsel). The damsel left a mark on the tang, it does not seem bad or deep, just noticible. Later on at night I noticed hippo rubbing against a rocks and walls of the aquarium more than a few times (either side of him). I though that its ick or something but I dont think so, I checked his eyes and fins and they are clear. He swims fine, looks healthy, just rubbing here and there. I'm not sure whats up... I fed all the guys in the tank and they all ate including the blue tang. Any ideas what it can be?
Please help me out here,
Alex
 
It could be ick but every time a tang scratches him self is not always ick. I`m concerned because Blue tangs (Hippo tangs) are IMO ick magnets and very suseptable to ick.Hopefully it`s not.
 
should I get a cleaner shrimp? any ideas on how to treat it?
 
I just got a hippo as well (3weeks ago). I got a cleaner shrimp and all seams to be better now. There are still white spots on the tang but is as healthy and active as can be. I was afraid to take it out and quarantine it due to the fact that tangs stress out to easy. I also have been feeding it green algae with garlic. I hope this helps some?
 
Get rid of the damsel(s)! Any new fish will likely get the same stress. Stress equals sickness.

Garlic only boosts the immune system Don't count on it to heal ick - or the cleaner shrimp.
 
thanks for all the replies, I its really helping me to deal with the issue! I was thinking of getting cleaner shrimp to help. I dont have a qt tank, so any ideas on how to treat him in the community tank?
 
The cleaner shrimp will not solve the issue. They reproduce many more times than the cleaner can take them. As mentioned above garlic will not kill the ick also. Read those articles I posted above if you want to get rid of the ick.
 
No one asked this question... How big is your tank titoav15.

Also, if you don't have a QT tank, and you want to treat him.. you have no other alternative to GETTING a QT tank. Doing Hypo in the main tank, could kill other things in the tank as well. And dosing things like copper that would kill the ich parasite, would kill off your live rock, and any inverts you have in the tank. It really is not worth the hassle. Unless the rest of your tank, compared to your tang, is completely expendable, i would not even think about treating the ich ridden fish in your main tank.

And again i reiterate, how big is your tank.
 
if you will read the first link that melosu58 put up for you, hyposalinity is the way to go my blue hippo and the rest of my fish have ich bad within 4 days in hypo and 4 days useing metronidazole and a 2 minute fresh water dip prior ich was cleared up totally but under the guidence of another man (Captain) in here we are keeping them in hypo and main tank fishless for 28 days to be rid of ich hopefully along time.
 
A long time? Hopefully forever.. The ich parasite once exterminated, should not return, unless the same, or another problem arises that will give the parasite a chance to thrive. Your fish shouldn't be stressed and you should keep on top of water changes, and make sure every one of them is healthy.
 
:D That's what we all hope for lol. But you are doing things right, so expect results!
 
one more thing to the orginal poster with ich, I am new to SW have had cichlids many many years, big difference in the FW versus SW and Tangs first mistake when buying a SW fish I made was not doing a FW dip and QT for 3 wks I learned that in here, this a probably the most important thing you can do when you bring that fish home or is shipped to you specially a Tang, had I researched further and found this forum sooner I would probably not be going through all of this to cure my fish.
 
Ah.. great advise fjm.. i seemed to have forgotten about that one. It is always wise to QT the fish before putting them in the main tank. This way you can observe them for any problems they may have, that my not show up within the first week.. but will start to show signs later on. This way you can catch it ahead of time, and treat it accordingly. Instead of just throwing it in the main tank and getting every other fish infected. Tangs are also notorious ich magnets, ESPECIALLY the Hippo. So it's not a suprise he's got ich. Seriously though, we all have said it.. get a QT if you want that fish to live.
 
I tried that, took some flakes and other foods and soaked just a bit of it in garlic juice from a bottle of minced garlic, fish did not eat it at all.
 
Try soaking nori in .5ml of garlic. Also wouldn't hurt to add .5ml of Vit. C and B.
 
Not a big fan of the Fresh water dip. yes it gets rid of the parasites that are currently on the fish but it REALLY stresses them out. why spend all the time aclimateing the fish to the salinity of your tank just to throw him in fresh water. big fan of a QT and a hospital tank but fresh water to cure saltwater fish......i don't think so.
 
Well, if you are a big fan of qt tanks then you are a fan of using medications because that is the whole point of qt. If that is the case, then you deem a fw dip as more stressful than medications such as formalin, copper, malachite green, etc. which are widely used? I do not see the logic, especially when hyposalinity is near fw conditions anyways and requires 4wks of it compared to a 5-15min. fw dip. Perform a fw dip correctly and there is limited stress in the grand scheme of things. Use a qt and begin treatments asap, before parasites and other disease set in further ;)
 
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